The
Wizard of Oz opened in Detroit on Thursday, August 24, 1939 at
the United Artists theater. It helped people escape from the bad news
in Europe, where World War II would start a week later. The movie had
earlier opened in New York City on August 17, 1939.

"There
is so much to be said in commendation of 'The Wizard of Oz' that your
correspondent, who dates back to when the L. Frank Baum story was the
eighth wonder of the stage, finds himself a bit bewildered in selecting
a spot from which to take off," wrote Len G. Shaw in The Detroit
Free Press on August 25, 1939. "Certainly no happier medium could
have been chosen for reopening the United Artists Theater than this fantasy
which Victor Fleming directed, Mervyn LeRoy produced and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
bankrolled without any reservations."

"More
than $3,000,000 and prodigious and painstaking labor went into 'The Wizard
of Oz,' but the studio should have little fear of success, " wrote
Al Weitschat in The Detroit News on August 25, 1939. " As
'Snow White' proved, the fairy tale knows no limitation in appeal. Young
and old of all classes and races can partake of its enjoyment."

The
Wizard of Oz began its Detroit neighborhood run on October 27,
1939, when it opened at the Hollywood, RKO Uptown, and other theaters.
It played at the Redford from November 12 to November 15, 1939, with Grand
Jury Secrets (John Howard, Gail Patrick).

"Technicolor
can claim much of the credit for the success of the picture," read
a review of The
Wizard of Oz in the September 16, 1939 edition
of The Ann Arbor News. "The bright colors make a real fairy
land of Oz, and the cast, capably directed by Victor Fleming, does the
rest."